RD I will try to answer even though I am not a gunsmith....first, no I like a lighter contour in 270/280 and other standard cases in a hunting rifle than for magnum chamberings. But as an example to think about the pre 64 M70 FW came chambered for the 264 Win Mag and I am pretty sure it had exactly the same contour as a 270 FW. Never heard of a single issue with those rifles even though I would not want a FW contour for a magnum chambering. I like a bit more meat around a belted case.
I have played with contours in the 7 Rem Mag since the 80's when I figured out most factory contours were just too heavy for what I wanted. I about drove Butch Searcy nuts with one until a light went on when I finally said...."Make it like a 270... and he said....."I know what you want"...and on my 24" Krieger he radiused (bad word) the barrel just forward of the chamber area sharply downward and transitioned to a light contour for the rest of the barrel.This is what he called at the time a "Burgess Contour" (Tom Burgess) and for years I did not know what he meant until I saw the same thing on some custom rifles on which Tom Burgess did the metal work.
I think that Utah 7/08 on here has a 7 Rem Mag with a very clever contour that is very much like what I had. At any rate the barrel on mine was very accurate and the rifle weighed a bit under 7.5 pounds....for its day it was a very light rifle for that chambering.
The barrel on my 7 Mashburn started as a Krieger #2...Gene Simillion lightened it a bit in the transition from chamber to barrel shank. The rifle weighs about 7.75 pounds scoped. I also have a 7 RM with a 24" Brux #2,also on a M70 Classic....there is a enough difference between the two that you will notice the difference...not a lot but you can notice it when you pick up the rifles. I think the Mashburn is about "perfect" but so was that old Krieger Butch did for me.At least for a barrel to be carried a lot.
Factories will standardize contours to save money so that in 338 they feel fine but in 7 RM they leave a lot of meat. In no particular order the factory 7 Mag contours that I "like" are: The Rem 700 KS Mountain rifle ( n 280 i would want a lighter contour); the contour on the Ruger M77 Hawkeye and original tang safety M77 (not the heavy one because they made two)are also good.The contour on a 7mm WSM Montana is also very light for a 7mm magnum.
Building rifles I notice that,at least to me,guys choose barrel contours that are bit too heavy and then wonder why their rifles end up weighing too much. What you get for a barrel contour depends on how you plan to use the rifles. Mine spend far more time in my hands, unslung, so I don't like a lot of weight. Don't know if this answers your question.
In passing I will mention that The Rickster (RinB) is one of the most knowledgeable metal and custom rifle customers we will bump into....he has literally owned it all from the top makers,and taught me a bunch of stuff ; when building I always talk to him about it and have been for 30+ years.
Is there a Kimber vs Current Winchester discussion going on?
